A pending criminal charge is a formal accusation that a court has not yet resolved. It begins when you are arrested or charged and ends only when a prosecutor dismisses the case, you reach a plea deal, or a judge or jury returns a verdict. You are legally presumed innocent the entire time. That presumption does not stop the charge from appearing on background checks, triggering release conditions, or affecting jobs, licenses, and travel while the case is open.
What Pending Actually Means
A pending charge sits between accusation and resolution. The government has accused you of a crime but has not proved anything, and the prosecution carries the full burden of proving the charge beyond a reasonable doubt before any criminal penalty can attach. No court has found you guilty, no sentence has been imposed, and the charge is not a conviction, an admission, or a finding of liability.
The practical effects, though, can feel like punishment well before anyone proves anything. That gap between legal status and lived experience is what makes the pending period so disorienting.
How Long a Pending Charge Can Last
The Sixth Amendment guarantees a speedy trial, and the Supreme Court evaluates speedy trial claims using four factors: the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, whether the defendant asserted the right, and the prejudice the delay caused.1Constitution Annotated, Congress.gov. Amdt6.2.5 Modern Doctrine on Right to a Speedy Trial
In federal court, the Speedy Trial Act requires trial to begin within 70 days of the indictment or the defendant’s first court appearance, whichever comes later.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3161 – Time Limits and Exclusions The statute allows numerous exclusions, including time for pretrial motions, competency evaluations, and defense-requested delays, so federal cases routinely take longer than 70 calendar days in practice.
State courts set their own timelines, and many lack an equivalent as strict as the federal act. Pending charges commonly last six months to over a year. Cases involving forensic analysis, multiple defendants, or extensive discovery can stretch past two years. Every continuance keeps the pending status alive.
How Pending Charges Show Up on Background Checks
Pending charges typically appear on criminal background checks because the charging document becomes public record once the court clerk files it. Consumer reporting agencies pull from county and district court systems and flag active cases as “pending” or “open.”
Federal law limits how long some of this information can follow you. Under 15 U.S.C. ยง 1681c, records of arrest generally cannot appear on a background report once they are more than seven years old.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports While a charge is still pending, the case is active and reportable regardless of when the arrest occurred. The seven-year clock becomes most relevant after a case ends without a conviction, at which point an arrest record can linger on reports for up to seven years from the arrest date.
One important exception: the time limits do not apply to positions with an expected annual salary of $75,000 or more.4U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII For higher-paying jobs, reporting agencies can include arrest records and pending charges indefinitely. Convictions have no federal reporting expiration at all.
Employment Rights During the Pending Period
A pending charge does not automatically disqualify you from getting or keeping a job. Federal law offers more protection here than most people expect.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stated that an arrest record alone is not proof that criminal conduct occurred and cannot serve as a blanket reason to reject an applicant. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, an employer’s policy of excluding applicants based on arrest records can be illegal discrimination if it disproportionately affects people of a particular race or national origin and is not tied to the specific job.4U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII An employer can consider the conduct underlying an arrest if it makes the person unfit for the position, but the arrest by itself is not enough.
When an employer does evaluate criminal history, EEOC guidance calls for weighing the nature and seriousness of the offense, the time that has passed, and the nature of the job. Those factors push employers toward individualized assessments rather than automatic rejections.
Beyond federal guidance, roughly half the states and Washington, D.C. have “ban the box” or fair chance hiring laws that prevent employers from asking about criminal history on initial job applications. The federal Fair Chance Act separately prohibits federal agencies and contractors from asking about criminal history until after making a conditional job offer. A pending charge should not come up until later in the hiring process, giving you a chance to be evaluated on your qualifications first.
Restrictions Courts Impose While the Case Is Open
When you are released before trial, the release almost always comes with conditions. Federal law lists the options a judge can impose, and state courts follow similar frameworks. The aim is to ensure you appear for hearings and do not endanger anyone while the case is active.
Common pretrial release conditions include:
- Travel restrictions. A judge may order you to stay within a specific judicial district or geographic area and, in serious cases, require you to surrender your passport.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3142 – Release or Detention of a Defendant Pending Trial
- No-contact orders barring communication with alleged victims or potential witnesses.
- Firearm restrictions. A court can order you not to possess firearms as a release condition. Federal law separately makes it illegal for anyone under indictment for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison to receive or transport a firearm across state lines. The federal statute targets receiving and transporting, not necessarily possessing firearms you already own, though a judge’s pretrial order can cover possession too.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Curfews and regular check-ins with a pretrial services agency.
- Substance restrictions, including prohibitions on alcohol or drug use and required testing or treatment.
Violating any of these conditions is a fast track to jail. A judge can revoke your release and hold you until trial. Failing to appear for a scheduled hearing typically produces a bench warrant and can lead to additional criminal charges on top of the original case.
Money, Licenses, and Other Practical Hits
If you are not released on your own recognizance, you will likely need to post bail. Many defendants use a bail bondsman, who charges a non-refundable premium of roughly 10% of the total bail. On a $10,000 bail, that is $1,000 you will not get back regardless of the outcome. If you post the full bail amount yourself through the court, you get it back when the case concludes, assuming you made all your appearances.
If you cannot afford a private attorney, you have the right to a court-appointed lawyer. Some jurisdictions charge a small application fee for public defender services, and a few impose repayment obligations after the case ends.
Professional licensing boards for fields like nursing, teaching, law, and real estate often require disclosure of pending charges on applications or renewals. Failing to disclose can be worse than the charge itself, since boards treat dishonesty on applications as independent grounds for denial. Some boards require disclosure within a set number of days, so check your board’s self-reporting rules immediately if you hold a license.
A few things a pending charge does not do. It does not strip you of the right to vote. Voting restrictions tied to criminal justice involvement apply only after a felony conviction, and even those vary by state. It also does not, by itself, affect eligibility for federal student loans, Pell Grants, or other aid through FAFSA. Federal student aid eligibility is affected by incarceration, not by unresolved charges. Students on probation or parole generally remain eligible, and drug convictions no longer disqualify applicants.7Federal Student Aid. Eligibility for Students With Criminal Convictions
How a Pending Charge Gets Resolved
Every pending charge eventually reaches one of several endpoints:
- Dismissal. The prosecutor drops the charge, often because evidence is insufficient, a witness is unavailable, or a procedural issue makes the case unwinnable. No conviction, no penalty.
- Acquittal. You go to trial and a judge or jury finds you not guilty.
- Plea agreement. You negotiate with the prosecution and agree to plead guilty or no contest, usually for a lighter sentence or reduced charges. Most criminal cases resolve this way.
- Conviction at trial. A judge or jury finds you guilty and the court imposes a sentence.
- Pretrial diversion. The prosecution agrees to let you complete a program involving conditions like community service, counseling, or drug treatment, and the charges are typically dismissed or reduced on successful completion. Diversion is most common for first-time offenders facing non-violent charges.8U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Manual 9-22.000 – Pretrial Diversion Program
Until one of these outcomes occurs, every restriction tied to the charge remains in effect.
Clearing Your Record After the Case Ends
If your charge is dismissed or you are acquitted, the arrest record does not automatically disappear. It will keep showing up on background checks unless you take steps to have it sealed or expunged. Expungement removes the record from public databases; sealing restricts who can access it. The terminology and process vary by state.
Most states allow expungement or sealing when a case ends without a conviction, though some require a waiting period. Court filing fees for expungement petitions range from nothing to a few hundred dollars, and many jurisdictions waive fees for people who qualify as indigent. Some states have begun automatic sealing for certain dismissed charges, removing the need to petition at all.
Even after expungement, some government agencies and law enforcement databases may retain the record for internal purposes. For the background checks that matter most to employers and landlords, a properly expunged or sealed record should not appear. If you go through the process and the charge still shows up on a background report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute the inaccuracy with the reporting agency.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports